Article 370 abrogation, birthday of Savarkar to be celebrated in Rajasthan schools
After taking charge of his department, education minister Madan Dilawar on February 26 said Savarkar’s role in the freedom struggle was wrongly written in the history
The Rajasthan government has included the celebration of the abrogation of the Constitution’s Article 370, which stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its semi-autonomous status, as “Swarnamukut Diwas”, the birthdays of Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, and 16th century Mewar ruler Maharana Pratap in the annual school calendar, sparking a fresh political row.
The secondary school education department published the calendar on Sunday. It said the Savarkar Jayanti will be celebrated on May 28 and the Maharana Pratap Jayanti on May 29. Earlier, in the annual calendar of primary school education published on July 9, the department added the celebration of the Ram temple consecration.
After taking charge of his department, education minister Madan Dilawar on February 26 said Savarkar’s role in the freedom struggle was wrongly written in the history. “They have glorified the role of Mughal empire Akbar who was a rapist. They have also distorted the character of Maharana Pratap.”
Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi said this is sheer politicisation of school education in line with Hindutva propaganda. “What will our students learn? The school textbooks usually include the roles of great leaders in our history. But BJP wants to teach them about Savarkar who apologised to the British instead of fighting against them,” he said. “The education minister does not have any idea on how to develop the sector and therefore he is trying to mislead the people instead of adding any further value to the system.”
Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Mukesh Pareek accused the Congress of politics of appeasement. “The BJP government will ensure the students learn about the lives and roles of great leaders such as Savarkar and Maharana Pratap. They should get a space as they will inspire the students.”
A secondary education department official said the calendar was planned in a way to get the students particularly in rural areas take interest in the school space and participate in activities through education. He underlined they have also added other activities such as “No Bag Day” on every second and fourth Saturday, celebration of independence day, Republic Day, and Gandhi Jayanti.
